


Rumspringa

by LeafOffTheWind (LeafOnTheWind)



Series: Ficlet Roulette [1]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Amish, F/M, Family, Fic Exchange, Gen, Inventor Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Mennonite, Motorcycles, Not Beta Read, POV Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Road Trips, Rumspringa, Short One Shot, farm au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:08:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25174399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeafOnTheWind/pseuds/LeafOffTheWind
Summary: Hiccup is excited to take his first foray into the world outside.
Relationships: Gobber the Belch & Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson
Series: Ficlet Roulette [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2006431
Kudos: 12
Collections: Fanfic Roulette 2020 Round 1





	Rumspringa

**Author's Note:**

> For a fic exchange. The prompts:
> 
> IP: How To Train Your Dragon  
> Prompt 1: Farm AU  
> Prompt 2: Road Trip
> 
> I'm sure you can tell, but I know exactly zero (0) things about Mennonites, or rumspringa, or the Amish, beyond the absolute basics. I am so sorry.

When Hiccup turns sixteen, he decides it is time. Several of his friends had already left, and one or two had left long enough ago that they’d come back already. Not that he wasn’t thrilled to see them, but he was, well, jealous. They’d been out there, experiencing the world, when he was here feeding chickens.

He knows he should not hold jealousy in his heart, and he does his best to let it go, knowing his time would come. Hiccup had always been an adventurous sort, which wasn’t necessarily something you would expect from a young Amish boy, and his parents had been nervous for his rumspringa because of it.

He always had the option to not come back, after all, but it needed to be his choice.

Not that he would! He loves his family, he obeys his duties and does his chores, but he also _knows_ there is more to the world than milking and plowing and making gazebos to sell at market.

And so, a week after his birthday, Hiccup packs a bag and heads out. There is a nearby youth community, but he has his eye set even farther: Hiccup wants to see the ocean.

Now, there is a rather large hurdle there: _technically_ , he should still be following the rules of his community, including only using a horse-drawn carriage. There is license for young folk like himself excusing some rowdiness, but no horse-drawn buggy is going to get him halfway across the country.

In preparation for his journey several months back, Hiccup managed to get a job working as an assistant to an old mechanic in the next town over by the name of Gobble. He’d never expected to get the job, let alone enjoy it as much as he did, _and_ old man Gobble let him buy a broken-down old motorcycle for a steep discount after a few weeks. In the time that followed, Gobble taught Hiccup to build it back up, not to its former glory, but at least to the point where he could ride it around without too much trouble or having it break down every time he turned around. The bike’s paint job was shoddy, and it squeaked when it started up, and it shuddered a little more violently than was strictly comfortable, but it _worked_ , and he’d added some storage to the back.

With the semi-completion of the bike came Hiccup’s real test.

Could he really leave home behind? The rules he’d followed (not so much, of late, but he certainly hadn’t disobeyed anything _extreme_ ), the people he’d known, the fields he’d worked?

Yes, he _absolutely_ could. His months working in Gobble’s shop were the most fun he’d had in _ages_ , he really, really liked working on the bike. Sure, those skills might transfer to the smithy back home, but he _loves_ this, and has a ton of ideas on how to improve things. The first chance he gets, he’s making more alterations.

That can wait until he understands how it works a little better, though. Best not to ruin the only long-distance transportation he has available to him just yet.

His father is uneasy, of course. When Hiccup’s mother disappeared so long ago, his father was inconsolable, his quiet mourning stretching through days to weeks, well beyond the acceptable grieving period. His father had moved from his boisterous family home to live with his mother the moment they were wed. With Hiccup gone, he will be living alone for the first time. He will return for that reason if no other.

Hiccup wakes up before the sun rises and packs up his basic clothing, enough food for a few days, and finishes a few final tasks for his father. Others will pick up his place while he’s gone; the community supports each other, and Hiccup hasn’t exactly made his plans a secret.

Toothless, his family’s curly-haired black sheepdog, bounds up for some attention, and is rewarded with a quick hug and several minutes of pets. Hiccup had found him wandering around between fields a few years back and had taken him in; he was wary at first, but soon warmed up to the family.

Hiccup was still his favorite, of course. He’ll miss him.

When his packs were strapped in place over his shoulders, the food hidden in a small cooler, and goodbyes said, Hiccup strode across town to the workshop, the reality of his situation suddenly hitting him. He probably won’t see his parents, or his aunts and uncles and cousins, or anyone else from the community for quite a long time, maybe years, depending on what he ends up doing, how long it takes him to get where he wants—needs—to go.

It’s a little sad.

He huffs a breath and starts strapping the cooler to the frame, readjusting the packs he has and making sure he has all the things he’ll need for a while. The bike is ready to go, now it’s all on him. He straddles the seat.

Just as he is screwing up his courage to take that last step, Hiccup hears a voice call out from the direction of home. “Going somewhere, loser?” He recognizes that voice, and can’t help but grin a little, though he is quite nervous even without his crush showing up. The packs on her shoulders, however, tell a different story. Hiccup’s mind screeches to a halt when he sees her; Astrid is wearing pants. Hiccup can feel the flush all the way to his ears and hopes it’s too dark for her to see.

Astrid shifts uncomfortably at the silence, doing her best to keep her bravado mostly up. She hasn’t been to the shop before, and he knows she’s planning on taking her rumspringa soon too, but showing up like this—

“Got room for one more?”

He really doesn’t, the bike is small and already pretty packed with his bags, and it’s _extremely_ inappropriate, but Hiccup has never been one to let the world tell him what’s possible. He tries to reply, but his voice can’t seem to form the words. He nods and gestures behind him, but Astrid is already loading up her things, filling in the small gaps between his bags and perching on top, looking for all the world like she does this—heading out in the early hours of the morning with a _boy_ —every day.

Hiccup doesn’t realize how much time he’s spent staring until she clears her throat, looking at him expectantly. “Well, where are we off to?”

A small grin forces its way onto his face. He’s seeing the world, and he’s going to do it with Astrid right there? He sends up a quick prayer of thanks and starts up the engine.

“We’re going to see the ocean.”


End file.
